Bet365 has revealed it will be quitting the Chinese market on 27 March, with “a business decision” given as a reason for the exit.
The family-owned operator first announced the move via the bet365 Help’s account on social media platform X, when replying to a user asking why Chinese operations were due to close.
The bet365 account noted that as of 27 March, the operator will “unfortunately no longer be providing our services to customers residing in China”.
The post also stated that China-based customers will be able to access their accounts until 30 April, after which they would need to contact bet365 to make a withdrawal.
In another response to a different X user, the same bet365 Help account said the reason for exiting China was “a business decision”.
Bet365 has since confirmed to EGR that it will shutter Chinese operations to focus instead on taking market share in its core markets. In a statement, the firm said: “Bet365 continually reviews and assesses the markets to which it offers its services.
“The group has decided to align its focus to its core competencies in its core markets by consolidating its resources to centre on gaining market share in regions that provide long-term sustainable revenue.
“As a result, bet365 will shortly cease operations into various jurisdictions including China.” EGR has asked the company to clarify which various jurisdictions besides China it plans to exit, yet we haven’t received a response at the time of writing.
Gambling is all but illegal in mainland China, bar a few state-controlled options such as lotteries. Special administrative regions Macau and Hong Kong both have more liberal gambling laws.
However, foreign operators have been reported to use mirror sites in the Asian nation, in a bid to bypass laws.
Mirror sites are clones of betting sites but with altered and obscure web and IP addresses to circumvent blocks.
A report by Business Insider in June 2022, on the scale of online gambling in China, claimed bet365 and its subsidiaries were operating 59 mirror sites.
At the time, bet365 told the publication that it didn’t believe operating in China was illegal and that penalties introduced by the Chinese government did not alter the group’s position.
The global online bookmaker’s annual financial filings with Companies House do not provide a geographic breakdown of where bet365 derives its revenue.
In January, bet365’s financial statement for the 53 weeks to 31 March 2024 showed revenue climbed 9% to £3.7bn, while profit soared to almost £400m.
However, the report stated: “A geographical analysis of turnover has not been given as in the opinion of the directors such a disclosure would be severely prejudicial to the interests of the group.”
Bet365 says it is live in more than 150 countries and available in 22 languages.
Independent research firm Regulus Partners said in 2020 that it estimated overall online gambling in China served directly to consumers, in other words discounting the vast network of betting agents, was worth $15bn in net revenue a year.
The post Bet365 announces its withdrawal from China first appeared on EGR Intel.
Privately owned operator informs customers it will pull the plug on services in the world’s second-largest economy from 27 March
The post Bet365 announces its withdrawal from China first appeared on EGR Intel.